Gonâve microplate

[1] This has been confirmed by GPS measurements, which show that the overall displacement between the two main plates is split almost equally between the transform fault zones that bound the Gonâve microplate.

[3] The Gonâve microplate is an approximately 1,100 km long strip, consisting mainly of oceanic crust of the Cayman Trough but including island arc material at its eastern end on the western part of Hispaniola.

GPS data supports the existence of the microplate by showing that the relative motion between the North American and Caribbean plates is split almost equally between the two bounding transform fault systems.

[2] Comparison of these rates with observations of magnetic stripes within the Cayman Trough suggests that displacement is increasingly being transferred from the northern fault system to the southern one.

The Gonâve microplate began to form in the Early Eocene after the northern part of the leading edge of the Caribbean plate (present day Cuba) collided with the Bahamas platform.